The present invention is a pair of handles designed to be temporarily attached to an awkwardly sized object, such as a residential furnace, to facilitate manual moving of the object.
Moving awkwardly sized objects that have few or no natural gripping surfaces can be difficult, particularly when they must be moved up and down stairs, especially when it is not desired to use a hand truck or dolly, which typically gouge the stairs, causing unacceptable damage. A good example of such objects is a household furnace. When they need to be replaced, they often must be removed from basements and the replacement furnace moved into the basement. Usually, workers must carry the old furnace up the stairs and carry the new furnace down the stairs. A household furnace typically weights about 80-90 kilograms (175-200 pounds). Using a wheeled dolly or hand truck is not desirable because using these on stairs increases the risk of injury because the load can roll uncontrollably down the stairs; the bottom man must bend over near the stairs to have any effect on the moving; and dollies tear up the stairs. In moving a furnace down the stairs, it is important not to jar or jostle the unit because this can damage electronic circuitry and mechanical control systems. Therefore, it is preferable for workers to carry furnace manually.
Typically, workers place one hand on each of two opposed sides of the furnaces and squeeze hard. This practice does not provide a sound grip, so the furnace can slip from the grip and it unnecessarily strains muscles.
Efforts to address the problem of gripping and carrying awkwardly sized objects have led to numerous patents. For example, US 2005/0103813 A1, a published patent application disclosing an invention by Edwards and published on May 19, 2005, discloses an Adjustable Dual Strap Design for Lifting and Carrying Awkward or Heavy Loads, comprising an end loop on each end of a strap for passing over each shoulder of a worker. Another such strap includes a number of small loops extending a middle portion of the loop. The worker with the straight strap passes his strap through one of the smaller loops to determine easily the length of the whole strap system between the two workers.
Other examples of apparatus designed to make lifting and carrying awkwardly sized objects include the following references.
Another published patent application, US 2005/0263551 A1, a published patent application disclosing an invention by Dent, III and published on Dec. 1, 2005, discloses a Simplified Two-Man Lifting Harness comprising a shoulder harness having a pair of straps that cross across the back and taper from the shoulders to the waist so that they meet at a buckle at their lower front ends, with the buckle fastened to a lifting strap held by one worker at each end, with each worker being connected to a separate harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,447 B1, issued to Betway on Jul. 18, 2006, discloses a Method for Manually Carrying a Load comprising a flexible ladder having a pair of parallel flexible cables fixed to a number of rungs fixed to the two cables and perpendicular to them, as shown in FIG. 1, with the load appropriately placed on the flexible ladder on the floor and then picked up by two workers using the rung members.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,511 B2, issued to Dent, III on May 4, 2004, discloses a Lifting Harness comprising an over-the-shoulders harness that crosses in the back and falls straight down the worker's front, with a buckle at the lower font end of the straps and a waist belt that is joined to the shoulder straps at the front. Two workers wear a separate shoulder harness and connect a long belt to the harnesses, with a load placed on the long belt, FIGS. 1-3.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,389 B1, issued to Ripoyla et al. on Jan. 21, 2003, discloses a Harness System for Lifting Objects comprising a separate shoulder harness, each worn by a different worker, with each harness including an outer loop, with the two loops joined together to place under the load.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,462 B1, issued to Fields on Aug. 15, 2000, discloses a Mattress and Sheet Material Carrying Apparatus comprising a closed loop of webbing having a pair of spaced depending smaller U-shaped straps sewn onto the closed loop strap for retaining the bottom of a load when a separate worker picks up each end of the closed loop main strap, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3. The device is most suitable for narrow loads such as a mattress or stacked sheets of plywood or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,376 B1, issued to Lopreciato on Mar. 21, 2000, discloses Forearm Furniture Leverage Straps comprising a strap with three different small loops for receiving a worker's forearms on each end. The worker can select which loop to insert his arm into. Each of two workers places a strap under a load so that the two straps cross under the load and then the workers pick up the load with their hands assisted by the straps on their arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,781 B1, issued to Lyons, Jr. on Jul. 27, 1999, discloses a Strap Apparatus for Carrying Relatively Large Objects comprising a system of interlocking strap loops, the length of each can be adjusted through use of a buckle. The strap loops allow a loop to be disposed across corners of boxes and the like, as shown in FIGS. 1, 5.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,448 B1, issued to Dewey on Apr. 2, 1996, discloses a Strap Apparatus for Hauling Large Objects comprising a figure-8 shaped strap having an adjustment buckle at its center, with a pair of opposed semi-rigid handles at each outer end of the loops, with the center of the whole strap being placed in the middle of the bottom of a load and the handles projecting outwardly from the load to be picked up by two workers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,045 B1, issued to Hart on Jun. 4, 1985, discloses a Mattress Carrier comprising a fitted cover that a mattress is inserted into and secured by a long zipper along three sides, enclosing the mattress. The mattress cover is equipped with straps having loop handles for providing allowing workers to carry the mattress easily.
These devices rely on flexible straps, which are themselves awkward and time consuming to install and adjust. Further, a substantial amount of room is needed to place the straps into position about the load. Further the space needed for workers to utilize the strap systems is significant in many cases, preventing their use in tight quarters, e.g., stairs. Finally, none provides a solid load bearing ability, increasing the risk of banging the load into a wall or the like through swinging of the load, an unacceptable risk in many moving situations. Such systems can increase the risk of injury inherent in moving large heavy objects due to load shifting and the additional stress placed on the shoulders and back.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that provides a ready means for securely moving an awkwardly sized load without using a dolly; that can reduce back injuries and other injuries common to moving heavy objects, with or without the aid of sling device; that provides a rigid connection to the object being moved; that is easy to install onto the load and to remove from the load; that requires minimal work to install and to remove; that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.